This invention relates to powered aircraft and particularly to aircraft having a circular wing member.
Several prior-art patents, including U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,939,648, 3,067,967, 3,503,573, 3,514,053, 3,519,224, and 3,946,970, disclose aircraft with a circular wing member arranged to rotate about the aircraft fuselage and thereby provide gyroscopic stabilization of aircraft attitude. All of these prior-art aircraft are provided with some aerodynamically-active components on the circular wing member for assisting or controlling aircraft flight. In particular, the rotating wing members are most often provided with wing-shaped fins, channels, grooves, or thrust members for providing aircraft lift.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved aircraft having a circular wing member which is substantially free of aerodynamically-active members.